Lee Races to GA State Championship; Denes Making Strides

- Macon, GA -

Sophomore Gabriel Denes continues to make leaps and bounds in his young cycling career, most recently posting a 3rd place finish in the Georgia State Championship (#6) Race in Eatonton, Georgia. Currently, he sits in 4th place although he aspires to move up to the podium by the season’s end. After the June 27th event, Denes will next race in Elijay, Georgia on July 18th in the 7th race of the GSC series.

As for the lone lady on the squad, Elizabeth Lee also continues to enjoy the summer race schedule with Georgia State Road Race Championship, held in Augusta, Georgia. During the 60 mile race, heat was certainly a factor and with a shortage of shade, Lee took the first part of the race in stride. However, during the 2nd lap of the 15 mile course, Lee attempted an attack on the large field, but to no avail. Battling hot temperatures, dehydration, and a split field that included Category 1, 2, 3, and 4 women, Lee battled the field splits to win the Category 3 Georgia State Champion Jersey! Lee’s win is the first state champion jersey for Mercer Cycling, coming in the team’s first season.

Lee followed her championship run on the road with a 6th place finish in the Criterium race the next day. The following weekend, a 2nd place finish in the Rock Hawk Effigy and Trails Mountain Bike Race saw Lee move up to 3rd in her respective category in the Georgia State Championship standings.

Upcoming races for individuals representing the Mercer Cycling squad include the French Broad Classic (Asheville, NC), Gwinnet Bike Festival (Gwinnet, GA), and the Georgia State Championship Mountain Bike Racing Series.

*Check out Gabe Denes's performances via the new 'Performance' tab on the site*

MU Cycling Adds Summer Race Schedule; Team Updates

- Macon, GA -

With temperatures moving into the 90s and heat indexes approaching 100 degrees, Mercer Cycling transitions into the summer session in which many of its riders will compete on an individual basis. Several team members, led by Elizabeth Lee, will represent the orange and black this coming weekend at the Georgia State Road Championship held in Ft. Gordon. Other highlights of the summer schedule include the bike events ranging from the French Broad Cycling Classic (Asheville, NC) to the Gwinnet Bike Fest (Duluth, GA) to the Georgia Cup's Dalton Grand Prix in late July. A pair of triathlons also make the calendar as Kevin Roberts looks to conquer the Tennessee River at the BMW of Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon and the Augusta 70.3 in September.

Of course, plenty of action has already occured this summer highlighted by sophomore Austin Sholly's trip across Florida for Journey of Hope. Participating in Gear Up Florida as a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, Sholly helped raise support for handicapped and disabled children along his ride.

Gabe Denes has also been busy on the racing circuit with appearances at Columbus's Aflac Grand Prix and mountain bike races in the Georgia State Championship Series. He also completed a rather long ride from his hometown (Columbus, GA) to Mexico Beach, Florida.

Kevin Roberts has kept the wheels spinning back at home, most recently competing in the Tour of Atlanta's road race around Burnt Mountain. His 19th place finish was a solid notch on his cycling record for the year in his first GA Cup Race of the season.

Elizabeth Lee has also been getting a "bear's" share of riding in this summer, completing most recently in the GSC Mountain Bike race in Jackson, GA. Despite a rough start and extremely hot temperatures, Lee hung on for a 5th place finish. She also notched her first endurance mountain bike race, finishing 5th in the solo category at the 6 hours of Tsali in North Carolina.

"I was tired, dirty, muddy, and ready to get the race over with after the fifth hour, but I was proud to accomplish what I did in the race," commented Lee.

A large part of the team has used the month away from school to settle into their summer jobs and school work while still spinning at local rides. Stay tuned for more results from this summer's race season as well as updates on the upcoming mountain bike and cyclocross seasons in the coming months.

Mercer Cycling would also like to wish Jason Glow the best as he continues his residency in Honolulu, Hawaii. Glow, a 2010 Boston Marathon contestant, ironman, and all-arounder on the bike, will be missed. While the weather might be better in the Pacific, we'll miss his presence at our races.

2010 Summer Racing Schedule

May 22-23, Aflac GP (Columbus, GA)
May 22, 6 Hours of Tsali (Bryson City, NC)
May 30, GSMB #4 (West Point, GA)
June 13, GSC #5 (Jackson, GA)
June 19, GA Road Championship (Ft. Gordon, GA)
July 11, Waterfront Tri (Chattanooga, TN)
July 16-18, French Broad (Asheville, NC)
July 25-26, Gwinnet Bike Fest (Duluth, GA)
July 31 - 1, Dalton GP (Dalton, GA)
Aug. 7, Covington Century (Covington, GA)
Aug. 28-29, River Gorge Omni (Chattanooga, TN)
Sept. 18-19, US Nationals (Greenville, SC)
Sept. 26, Augusta 70.3 [Tri] (Augusta, GA)

Lockwood and Roberts Move to Cat 4 / CollegiateB

- Macon, GA -

After a busy spring season of racing, two of the cornerstones of Mercer Cycling's young team, Andrew Lockwood and Kevin Roberts have moved up to Category 4 / Collegiate B for the continuation of the 2010 season.

Lockwood moves up a category despite winning a race early in the season with consistent finshes at the top of the pack. In criteriums and road races this season, he has four Top-5s, seven Top-10s, and three team time-trial victories alongside Roberts. He also finished runner-up to Roberts in the early Tundra Time Trials held in February.

Roberts, fresh off a victory at the Cat 5 race in the Macon Cycling Classic, boasts a strong resume during his first full season of racing. Known as a strong time-trialist and climber, Roberts won the collegiate division in this year's Tundra Time Trials and has helped propel the three team trials he's been a part of to victories [Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Furman]. Along with his criterium win, Roberts adds three Top-5s and six Top-10s to his resume so far in 2010.

[Click to Enlarge Results]

Lee Finishes 18th (RR) and 17th (Crit) at Nationals!

Results-

Madison, WI -

Mercer Cycling's first entry into the USA Cycling Collegiate Nationals certainly did well in the orange and black considering her competition. With colleges across the nation represented at the Nationals weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, Mercer junior Elizabeth Lee rode to a 18th place finish in frigid conditions during the road race Friday while hanging on to the main peloton to finish 17th in the criterium held Saturday afternoon around the state capitol.

Friday's road race turned out to be rather cold with temperatures hovering in the mid-40s for most of the morning. Despite barely warming up, Lee felt like she had her legs underneath her and proved so during the early parts of the race. Despite being dropped from the peloton on the first two major climbs of the race, Lee raced back onto the main group before being permanently seperated from the pack after the third climb. The race, approximately 60 miles in length, was a contest of endurance for Lee who would finish 18th out of the 23 that completed the race. Thirty women would start the event eventually won by Arielle Filiberti of Dartmouth.

"I was a little disappointed about being dropped early in the race, but I was happy to finish," Lee said afterwards.

Saturday's criterium event proved to be a better match for Lee's abilities as she powered on the peloton to finish 17th. The 45 minute race saw plenty of windy conditions around the course that circled the capitol. The race saw a three-man breakaway that almost lapped the entire field while Lee stayed within the pack to complete her first national criterium event. Filiberti also would win the criterium for a sweep at Nationals.

"It was a great experience," added Elizabeth. "I wish I had positioned myself for a better finish, but I was pretty happy to have stayed with the main field."

Elizabeth Lee to race in Nationals!

- Madison, WI -

The capital of Wisconsin is certainly a long way from Macon, Georgia, but that's where junior Elizabeth Lee will be representing Mercer Cycling for the 2010 U.S. Collegiate Nationals. Lee, a qualifier in the 'A' category out of the SECCC conference, will race May 8th and 9th in the orange and black. She was the only female individual in the D2 level of the SECCC to get appointed to the race by conference director Nathan Haslick.

"We're very excited for Elizabeth," commented team director Andrew Lockwood. "She's put a ton of work in over the past few years and this seems to only be the culmination of that experience."

This season, Lee has garnerned 11 Top-10 finishes, 5 Top-5 finishes, and a win at the Flat Rock Mountain Bike Race earlier in April. Racing for Mercer Cycling and in the offseason for Kudzu.com/Fulton Flyers Cycling Club, Lee is the first Mercer cyclist to represent the team on a national level.


For more information on the 2010 U.S. Collegiate National weekend, visit (here).

Roberts Takes First in Macon!

Photos
Results
- Macon, GA -

Saturday's first Macon Cycling Classic had the hometown feel that race organizers were aiming for as teams from across the southeast gathered around Tatnall Square Park for exciting cycling action all day long. Hosted by Walthall Oil Cycling and Mercer Cycling, the hometown teams had the advantage of knowing the course well. The 1 km course around the park is home or close to home for many of the collegiate racers.

Mercer Cycling had five entries in three races throughout the day as Elizabeth Lee (Cat 3/4 & Pro-1-2-3), Kevin Roberts, Andrew Lockwood, Paul Rush and Austin Sholly joined in on the action. After the morning juniors races, Elizabeth Lee started things off for Mercer as she finished 4th in the 12 person field.

Immediately after her race, the Category 5 race featured nearly 20 cyclists at the starting line with strong representation from Mercer Cycling. After three quick laps around the circuit, Kevin Roberts, Andrew Lockwood, and Atlanta-native Curtis Strange found themselves in a three-man breakaway, distancing themselves from the field. Austin Sholly and Paul Rush led the charge in the chase group, but the 35+ minute event turned into a cat-and-mouse game as Roberts, Lockwood, and Strange worked together to lap nearly half of the field.

On the last lap of the race, Lockwood pulled away initially from the field in turn 3 with a half a second gap but was caught on the final straightway as Strange and Roberts passed him. Roberts would eventually outsprint Strange to the line to win his first ever criterium event.


"What a great win for Kevin," said Lockwood after the race. "I couldn't think of a better way to win your first race than right in front of your school in front of your biggest fans and supporters. I'm extremely proud of all the members of our team today for representing our team in great fashion," Lockwood added.

Celebration ensued after the race as Sholly rode to a 10th place finish followed by Paul Rush.

After sporting her Kudzu.com/Fulton Flyer's club jersey earlier in the day, Lee donned the Mercer Orange and Black in the small field for the Women's Pro-1-2 race. Unofficially, Lee kept pace with the group to finish 5th.

Mercer Cycling wants to thank all of the students, faculty members, friends, and parents that showed up to the 1st Annual Macon Cycling Classic to support the team and the race!

MU Cycling Prepares for Macon Cycling Classic

- Macon, GA -

Following a busy weekend of racing in Athens, Roswell, and Ft. Yargo, Mercer Cycling now prepares for the Macon Cycling Classic to be held Saturday, May 1st around the Tatnall Square Park in front of Mercer University. Hosting the event along with the Walthall Oil Cycling team, the criterium race boasts over $5,000 in prize money and merchandise awards and over 10 races during the course of the day.

The team expects several entries from within Mercer Cycling in the race, including Andrew Lockwood, Kevin Roberts, Elizabeth Lee, Austin Sholly, Gabe Denes, and Paul Rush among others. Roberts comes off of his best weekend of crit racing yet, placing 4th in the Cat 5 in Athens and 22nd in the Cat 4/5 in Roswell. Denes and Lee all look to garner top finishes after placing 3rd in their respective races in Ft. Yargo.


Lockwood looks to redeem himself after crashing midway through Athens and finishing 33rd in Roswell while Sholly also looks for a high finish after a vicious wreck on the Greenway course in Athens last Saturday.

The Cat 3/4 Women's race begins at 11:20am while the Mercer men will take off at 12:10pm.

For a full list of details, results and event schedule, visit www.maconcyclingclassic.com

Top Showings in Athens, Ft. Yargo

Athens Photos
Roswell Photos

- Athens, GA -

After a crazy weekend of racing, Mercer Cycling took another big step by racing near the top in Athens, Roswell, and Ft. Yargo. Racing for the second time in Athens, Mercer traveled with six riders (Kevin Roberts, Andrew Lockwood, Jason Glow, Gabe Denes, Austin Sholly, and Elizabeth Lee) and endured pouring rain during the morning criterium races presented by Jittery Joe's.

The 8:00am start saw enormous rain showers soak the 1 mile (0.7k) Greenway course between East Broad Street and North Avenue. Elizabeth Lee finished midway through the peloton in the Women's Cat 3/4 race to start the action that morning.

The men's race saw two significant rain showers during the 30 minute event and despite starting in the back, Kevin Roberts and Andrew Lockwood found their way to the front of the Cat 5 peloton after 2 laps. Midway through the race, Lockwood found the pavement after running in 3rd place behind Roberts in a slick part of the 115 degree turn 2. Losing valuable seconds, Lockwood would finish halfway through the second chase group in 27th.

Perhaps the worst crash of the race occured when Austin Sholly met the curb after taking the third turn a bit wide with 2 laps to go. Sholly suffered severe cuts to his right arm and leg and was forced to withdraw. Gabe Denes and Jason Glow would ultimately finish behind Lockwood in the third chase group.

After a solid run up front, Roberts was leading the peloton coming up the final hill before being edged out by three other sprinters, finishing 5th in the race. That finish marked Kevin's best crit finish of the 2010 season.

"That was a tough race out in the rain," said Lockwood after the event. "Congrats to Kevin on an unbelievable finish. Our team certainly showed a lot of improvement since last season's 53rd and 54th place finshes."

The team was able to also catch the remainder of the criterium racing schedule in Athens that night before splitting up to travel to Ft. Yargo for a mountain bike race and to Roswell for the Historic Roswell Criterium.

All four entries in the Roswell race posted strong showings in the 100+ field of Cat 4/5 riders. Roberts garnered a finish in 22nd while Lockwood stayed in the peloton to finish in 33rd. Jason Glow and Austin Sholly survived until the midrace cut, but Sholly showed a gutsy effort after he sustained a big crash the day before. The 40 minute event was by far the fastest race the team had endured all season with an average speed of over 25 mph on the 6 turn course.

In Ft. Yargo, Elizabeth Lee and Gabe Denes rode to 3rd place in their respective classes. Gabe Denes said after the race, "This was definitely my hardest race of the year. The fourth place rider stayed on my wheel for most of the race until the sprint at the end, which was into a 20+ mph headwind."

Mercer Cycling now hosts the Macon Cycling Classic around Tatnall Square Park on Saturday, May 1st. Details about the race can be found at www.maconcyclingclassic.com

Roster Set for Twilight/Ft.Yargo/Roswell

- Macon, GA -

As Mercer Cycling heads to Athens Twilight for the second year in a row, they take a much larger team with higher expectations. Andrew Lockwood, Elizabeth Lee, Kevin Roberts, Jason Glow, A.J. Sholly, Gabe Denes, and Evan Ayoub will all travel to Twilight to race in the morning on the Oconee River Greenway Circuit. The race course is a 1.3 mile, 4 corner circuit, with two long straights that encircles the Greenway Park between East Broad Street and North Avenue. It's fast, with an open uphill sprint finish to the Greenway Overlook on smooth pavement.

Elizabeth Lee will race in the Cat 3/4 women's event at 8:00am while the men's Cat 5 race will commence at 8:45am. Both races are 30 minutes with purse sizes of $250 and $200 respectively. The top five finishers of the Cat 3/4 women's race will also earn an entry into the Amateur Finals that night in Athens.

After the racing finishes Saturday morning, the team will break up into two squads as Lee and Denes will compete in the Ft. Yargo mountain bike event while the rest of the team will travel to the Historic Roswell Criterium to race in the Cat 4/5 race at 1:55pm. This 40 minute race offers 7 placings for a $300 purse.


Stay tuned to MercerCycling.blogspot.com for more details!

Lee and Denes Finish High at Flat Rock

- Columbus, GA -

Taking a break from the spring road season, junior Elizabeth Lee and freshman Gabe Denes finished first and second in their respective categories this past weekend at the Flat Rock Mountain Bike Race in Columbus, GA.

Donning the new Mercer Cycling jerseys for the 2010 season, Lee pulled ahead early in the race and maintained her lead throughout the course of the event to become the top finisher out of the 8 person field.

"It was a pretty good race and I went out hard so i was the first one on the trail," commented Lee. "After that there was no turning back. Well except I decided to take some epic spills on the trail, you know so i would have something to remember it by. But at least this time i didn't end up in the E.R," she added.

Denes also had a great start from the line and picked off his competitors in route to a second place finish. He also set a personal-record with a 49 minute lap time.

"I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest," Denes said afterwards.

Mercer Cycling plans to visit the Athens Twilight Criterium and Roswell Criterium this next weekend (April 24th, 25th) before hosting the Macon Cycling Classic May 1st.

Top Finishes at Furman Cap another Weekend of Racing

- Greenville, South Carolina -

Final Results
Photos Album 1
Photos Album 2

Going into the SECCC’s Furman race weekend, Mercer Cycling hovered at fifth of the 16 teams in the Division II SECCC Conference standings despite only racing 3 of the 5 events this spring. Hoping to have a strong showing in their final SECCC team event of the spring, Mercer Cycling answered with another team time trial victory, three Top-10s in the men’s ‘C’ road race (including one in the women’s A race), and a Top-3 finish during the rain-soaked Criterium. Traveling to Pelzer, South Carolina, about 30 minutes south of Greenville, the team time trial was a held on a surprisingly tough 15.5 mile course that exposed teams to plenty of elevation, head-winds, and chilly weather for a Saturday morning.

Mercer’s first entry (Jason Glow, Andrew Lockwood, and Kevin Roberts) posted the fast time in the ‘C’ team time trial at 41:53, only 21 seconds ahead of 2nd place King College. Mercer’s second entry (Gabe Denes, Paul Rush, A.J. Sholly) came in minutes later at 46:26 to finish in 4th. Saturday afternoon’s road race event was the longest for the ‘C’ riders thus far in the season, stretching to nearly 44 miles as the peloton completed three laps on a course that provided more than 3,000+ feet of climbing during the 2 hour race. With a field of 53, odds were that no attack at the front would survive for very long (as no attack during the course of the race had survived for more than 5 minutes at the previous three road races).

However, the dynamics of the race changed when eventual winner Brooks Bostick (College of Charleston) would blow up the field only 10 miles into the race, holding off the peloton for another 7-8 miles before being caught on the hill section of the course. Soon after, Mercer rider Kevin Roberts followed the lead of Brian Arne (CoC) in another attack that lasted the longest (nearly 14 miles) during the midsection of the race. Several teams worked up front to help the peloton reel in the attack groups. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida State, Clemson, King College, and ETSU all did work to stay in the front 1/3 of the field. With two miles to go, the Mercer team started to work as a team up front but a costly official ruling sent team member Andrew Lockwood to the back of the peloton with only minutes to go (Lockwood passed a rider on the yellow line instead of squeezing into the peloton when the field slowed).

Nevertheless, the Bears worked up to the top-10 for the final sprint. Lockwood would lead out Gabe Denes and Kevin Roberts to outstanding finishes at 4th and 6th respectively while he’d finish tenth. Jason Glow had a quiet, but consistent day in the peloton and stayed out of trouble to capture 20th while A.J. Sholly and Paul Rush dropped out of the race after the 2nd lap after falling off the back of the lead group.

“It was a long-grueling, painful end to the race. It was quite a challenge for me with all the hills but our team was certainly outstanding today,” said Denes after his best collegiate finish this season. Not known as a climber, Denes did the work he had to in order to position himself in the peloton for the final sprint. It was certainly a testament to the hard work the freshman has put into his training this spring.

In the women’s ‘A’ field, Elizabeth Lee repeated another strong showing, perhaps her best collegiate performance yet, with a 4th place finish.

The Criterium held on Sunday morning on Furman’s campus was perhaps the most technical race of the season as it featured seven turns on a rain-soaked 0.8 mile course. Part of the course was composed of a 270 degree loop of cobblestones while several 90 degree turns came into play. The field of approximately 50 started out fast and furious again, so much so, that sophomore Kevin Roberts was unable to work his way up front after a late clip-in at the start line.

Gobbling up attacks that went off the front, Andrew Lockwood rode a safe race, staying within the pack until the last few laps in order to position himself near the end. In eighth place with one lap to go, Lockwood passed all seven riders in front of him on the wet cobblestones to lead the pack out of the final turn. A Lees-McRae rider attacked to the right out of the final turn but had both wheels slip out from underneath him en route to his second wreck of the day (he wrecked midway through the event over his handlebars after his tire popped, cracking his helmet).

CoC’s Brooks Bostick found himself in the victory circle again with another Criterium win holding off South Carolina’s Eric Cash at the line. Lockwood would finish third after nudging out Furman’s Michael Bingham by only two inches. Despite the tough luck at the start, Kevin Roberts would record an 11th place finish while Jason Glow and A.J. Sholly barely missed the cut-line at 23rd and 26th respectively. In total, there were 6-7 wrecks during the 37 minute, 14 mile affair as the precipitation came in spurts.

“That was quite a race,” said Lockwood following Sunday morning’s event. “My bike felt extremely loose in the turns with the slick pavement and I was just fortunate not to get caught up in a wreck today as two happened right in front of me and one behind me. I was extremely proud of our team’s efforts all weekend long.”

Elizabeth Lee would endure constant rain in her 30 minutes + 3 lap event to finish 6th in a talented women’s ‘A’ field.

“This was probably the most fun and relaxing weekend of racing we’ve had,” said Roberts. “This weekend showed how strong our team really is and we worked together to use our strengths to post top results in the team time trial, road race and Criterium.”

A special thanks goes to Jason [Mercer Alum 1995] and Amy Daly of Greenville, South Carolina for providing lodging and delicious meals all weekend long.

Kevin Roberts and Gabe Denes interview post-race [Road Race]

Team Gearing Up for Furman Race Weekend

- Macon, GA -
Race Flier

After two weeks rest, the Mercer Cycling team will again hit the road, traveling to Greenville, South Carolina for the SECCC's fifth collegiate event of the season. Racing in their third collegiate competition of the spring, Mercer named the following riders to their traveling roster this weekend:
- Gabe Denes
- Jason Glow
- Elizabeth Lee
- Andrew Lockwood
- Kevin Roberts
- Paul Rush
- A.J. Sholly

Saturday's team time trial and road race will take place in nearby Pelzer, South Carolina as Mercer's two men's team will take off at 9am. The two teams (Lockwood, Roberts, Glow & Denes, Rush, Sholly) will look to take the podium again for the third race in a row after winning the 'C' time trials at both Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. The 15 mile rolling hill loop should provide for plenty of action early Saturday morning.

Perhaps the most anticipated collegiate cycling event up to this point in the spring will be Furman's 40 mile 'C' race as the peloton will travel 3 laps around a course surrounding the town of Pelzer. Women's entry Elizabeth Lee will also battle the Women's 'A' field in a 40 mile affair as well.

Sunday's criterium events start early as the 'C' race kicks off the events at 8:30am. The 30 minutes + 3 laps race around Furman's campus will be an electrifying race for the men as Elizabeth Lee will go the extra distance (40 minutes + 3 laps) in her competition.

Stay tuned to MercerCycling.Blogspot.com for more details following the racing action this weekend.

Online Registration Now Open for the Macon Cycling Classic!

-Macon, GA-

Online registration is now available for the 1st Annual Macon Cycling Classic on Saturday, May 1st across from Mercer University around Tatnall Square Park. Working in conjunction with Macon’s Walthall Oil Cycling Team to promote the event, this Criterium bicycle race will be the first of its kind around the park. Moving last year’s downtown Macon Criterium to the park adjacent from University will bring hundreds of cyclists and thousands of spectators to the Mercer Village, one of the centers of the city’s revitalization efforts in recent months.

Event information including a list of races, start times, and entry fees can be found by visiting the race website at www.maconcyclingclassic.com.

Epic Road Races Cap Racing at Georgia Tech

Photos
Results
Saturday Sprint Finish Video
Handy, GA –

Coming off of a spring break rest from school, Mercer Cycling once again had a great showing in their second collegiate event of the season. Racing in a nearby rural suburb of Newnan, Georgia, a total of seven riders would compete for Mercer in the team trial, individual time trial, and road race portions of the event.

Saturday’s early morning session saw Mercer’s team time trial entry of Evan Ayoub, Jason Glow, Kevin Roberts, and Andrew Lockwood take first place in the ‘C’ category with a time of 28:16 around the 11 mile course for an average of 23.35 mph. The team reached speeds of 39 mph coming down a large descent that made up the first four miles of the course before strongly climbing the middle section of the course to finish 3:14 before second place finisher North Georgia (31:30).

In the individual time trial, Mercer’s Gabe Denes finished 7th (32:19) while freshman Alex Lockwood placed ninth with a 34:46 mark.

The afternoon road race shifted to a nearby 8 mile course on which the ‘C’ race would consist of four laps. As a climber-friendly course, Mercer riders worked up front for most of the race in the most epic event of the weekend. Gaining more than 2,100+ feet of elevation over the course of the race, the peloton of 30+ was split into a much smaller group of 12 riders by the end of the race with Andrew Lockwood and Kevin Roberts working with several teams up front.

Jason Glow experienced an excruciating wreck at the 10 mile mark when a rider in front of him slammed on his brakes, causing Glow and another rider to pile up behind him. Gabe Denes would also be forced to pull off of the course at the 24 mile mark with mechanical difficulties.


Kevin Robert’s attack at the base of a steep ladder climb halfway through the race helped set him up for a last minute sprint to the line at the top of a hill to finish 6th. College of Charleston’s (CoC) Brian Arne would manage to barely eek out the win over Georgia Southern’s Matt Gentry. Andrew Lockwood would finish 5 seconds behind the sprint group after suffering from cramps for the last half-mile to register a top-10 finish in 9th. Evan Ayoub would follow up the peloton in 15th, crossing the line just off the pace.

“I saw there was a steep climb coming into the race when we drove the course and I came into today wanting to use that climb to my advantage. Out of the two courses, I loved the Saturday course the most because of the uphill finish,” commented Roberts after the weekend of racing.

In the women’s ‘A’ race, an early breakaway from the Lees McRae team would prove costly as the Bobcats took positions 1 through 5. Mercer entry Elizabeth Lee would finish in the chase group in 8th.

After a night of recovery, Sunday’s race was an interesting sprint to the finish as well as almost the entire peloton finished at the same time. Attacks from CoC, Clemson, and Georgia Southern throughout the 33 mile race were unsustainable, setting up the group for a wild finish at the end. Wild finish it was as Georgia Southern’s Matt Gentry would race out to the lead with merely yards left before rounding the final turn. Gentry would cross the line first, but would later be disqualified for crossing the yellow line on a hill during the final sprint.

South Carolina’s Eric Cash would win the race, picking up his first of the season while CoC, Auburn, Clemson, and Alabama would record riders in the top 10. Andrew Lockwood, Kevin Roberts, and Gabe Denes would turn in a hard day’s effort up front for 6th, 8th, and 9th respectively while Jason Glow finished 14th.



Elizabeth Lee would also turn in a hard effort in the 44 mile women’s ‘A’ race to post 7th.

“Both road races were great experiences for our team,” said Andrew Lockwood. “We were able to really focus a lot on racing tactics, something that’s hard to simulate in training rides and in the big picture things went very well for us. Three Top-10s on Sunday will certainly help us in the points and I think we gained a lot of respect from the other schools in the conference today. Working up front with some of the top riders was fun and certainly taught us a lot,” he added.

Mercer Cycling now continues to train for the next collegiate competition of the season, hosted by Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina on March 27th and 28th.

Mercer Cycling Races to Top Finishes in Statesboro

Photos
Results
- Statesboro, GA -

It was a wild weekend for cyclists as representatives poured in from 17 colleges and universities around the southeast to participate in the 2010 Battle in the 'Boro. The race, held as a SECCC points race hosted by Georgia Southern, was the first collegiate race of the season for many teams, including Mercer Cycling. Starting the omnium race weekend off, Mercer's two teams of time trialist fared reasonably well given the chilly weather Saturday morning.

Taking the race trailer to Rocky Ford, a rural town 30 minutes from Statesboro, Mercer's first time trial team (Gabe Denes, Andrew Lockwood, Kevin Roberts) finished first in the 'C' category, 10th of 15th overall, with a 20km time of 33:02. The Bear's 2nd team consisting of Jason Glow, Paul Rush, and A.J. Sholly came in third in the 'C' category with a 12th place finish in the A, B, and C combined standings.

After Saturday morning's team time trial effort, the cyclists moved to Georgia Southern's campus for the afternoon's criterium races. The venue, which featured 8 hairpin turns, was quite a fast course for the riders but also whipped up winds as cyclists sped down the second straightaway. In the 'C' criterium (30 minutes + 3 laps), College of Charleston's Brooks Bostick and Brian Arne jumped out to an early advantage in front of a sizable chase group. The field of 44 quickly narrowed down to a chase group of 8-10 riders midway through the race as Mercer's Kevin Roberts attempted to bridge the gap to CoC's top riders. Briefly successful, Roberts dropped back a lap later to work with Andrew Lockwood in shuffling through the chase group. Late in the race, lap traffic began to become a problem as Bostick and Arne would easily claim 1st and 2nd. The rest of the field became a nightmare to sort out however as the chase pack finished in the middle of the lapped peloton.

Unofficially, Lockwood would finish 4th behind an ETSU rider while Roberts would hang onto 5th in a highly disputed and contested race. A.J. Sholly would hang on for a surprising mid-pack finish followed by Jason Glow, Gabe Denes, and Paul Rush.

Mercer's lone women's entry in Elizabeth Lee would take a 9th place finish out of the 13 woman field in the Collegiate 'A' category.

Sunday's road race was also highly controversial as the 22 mile course quickly morphed into a 27 mile course for the 'C' riders. Elizabeth Lee's 44 mile race also gained distance, increasing to 50+ miles by the race's end. Confusion and poor race organization by led to a combined peloton of 'B' and 'C' riders despite more than a 5 minute staggered time around the 22 mile Rocky Ford loop. In the men's 'C' action, all Mercer riders hung on with the peloton until the pace truck unexpectedly pulled over to the side of the road after missing a turn. After the confusion settled, Lockwood, Roberts, and Denes found themselves racing upfront with King College, College of Charleston, and riders from ETSU until the final sprint. Roberts led out a tad too early in his sprint, falling back to finish 18th as Lockwood would garner 3rd place behind CoC's Bostick and Georgia Southern's Matt Gentry. Gabe Denes would rebound to take 14th while Jason Glow (24th), Paul Rush (25th) and A.J. Sholly (33rd) would round out the results. Mercer Cycling now takes a two week rest break and resumes racing at the SECCC's next official race at Georgia Tech on March 13th and 14th.
Saturday's Kevin Roberts Interview

Saturday's Andrew Lockwood Interview

Collegiate 'B' Racing